Feet and ball positioning device for golfers



Jan. 18, 1966 R. E. TABER 3,229,981

FEET AND BALL POSITIONING DEVICE FOR GOLFERS Filed June 5, 1963 7 L W II'm. Win. WTII H 26 I I I3 3 30 /fi //6' t i fii i' ii i ti ifi INVENTORZ12053122" 5. TABER. BY f '1 MTYK,

United States Patent 3,229,981 FEET AND BALL POSITIONING DEVICE FORGOLFERS Robert E. Taber, 5121 Hallgate, Toledo 12, Ohio Filed June 5,1963, Ser. No. 285,695 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-187) This invention relates togolf instruction devices and is particularly directed to a gaugingdevice for determining the stance of a golfer for different types ofshots.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for gaugingthe stance of a golfer to properly position the [feet and body forsquare, open and closed stance shots.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable golf stanceindicator that is easily and economically produced and constructed sothat it may be collapsed or folded together and carried in a golf bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stance gauge with agraduated direction bar for determining the spacing between the feet,and an angularly adjustable cord for defining the position of the feetlaterally with respect to the direction bar for various shots.

Generally speaking the portable stance gauge of the present inventionincludes a main channel shaped member or bar to each end of which ispivoted a stance position arm carrying spaced pins or pegs marked forsquare (S), open (0) and closed (C) stance. A stance cord 3,229,981Patented Jan. 18, 1966 closed or projected positions.

is stretchable between selected pins and defines the posi' tion of the.golfers feet laterally of the direction bar, and the bar is graduatedto determine the space between the feet for the type of shot beingplayed. A ball position arm is pivoted inwardly from one end of thedirection bar and when extended perpendicular thereto serves to locatethe inside of the left heel of the golfer as well as the position of theball. By means of the graduations on the direction bar and a simplecalculation, the inside of the right foot is determined.

The above mentioned and other features and Objects of this invention andthe manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the inventionitself will be understood best by reference to the following descriptionof embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the stance gauge of thepresent invention illustrating the posi tion of the ball and itsdirection of flight and the position of the feet for a closed stanceshot by .a right handed player;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the gauge device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail view on a line IH-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing itsfolded or collapsed position for carry- FIG. 5 is an enlargedfragmentary detail view of a modified connection between the directionbar and ball position arm; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional detail view on a line VIVl of FIG. 5.

With particular reference to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the improved stancegauge is shown as comprising a heel placement and direction bar 10 toone end of which a stance position arm 12 is pivotally connected at 14,and to the other end, a stance position arm 16 is pivoted at 18. A ballposition arm 20 is pivotally connected to bar 10 intermediate its endsand preferably closer to one end thereof at 22. Bar 10 and arms 12, 16and 20 may be of the same cross-section such as the channel shape shownin FIGS. 3 and 4 and may be fabricated The direction bar 10 is graduatedin inches from 0" adjacent the ball position arm 20 to facilitate theplacement of the feet and particularly the heels of the player. Thestance position arms 12 and 16 are each provided with spaced pins orpegs which may be in the form of screws 28 having heads spaced above thetop surface of arms 12 and 16. A stance cord 30 which may be elasticsuch as a long helical spring or a long rubber band or elastic cord isselectively connected by loops 32 at opposite ends of the cord 30 topins 28 on arms 12 and 16 to adjust the angle of the cord with respectto the bar 10. Inner pin 28 on arm 12 is marked by letters S and C, andthe outer pin thereon is marked by the letter 0, while the inner pin onarm 16 is marked by letters S and O and outer pin by letter C. Theletter C indicates closed stance, letter 0 open stance, and letter Ssquare stance. In other words, when stance cord 30 connects the lettersC and the toes of the golfer touch the cord 39, the feet are positionedin a closed position suitable .for drives and long shots. When pins withletters 0 or letters S are interconnected by cord 30, the angularity ofthe cord is such that the feet are positioned for (0) open stance,suitable for short or approach shots; or (S) for square stance, suitablefor chip shots or putting, respectively. To accommodate the pegs 28 whenthe device is folded or collapsed into a carrying position, notches 35are provided in the direction bar 10 adjacent the bottom edge thereof asshown in FIG. 2, which permit arms 12 and 16 to be aligned with bar 10.

The stance indicator may be collapsed to its folded position so as to bereadily carried in a golf bag. From such folded position (see FIG. 4)the device is readied for use by loosening the wing nuts 26 and arms 12,16 and 20 swung outwardly into their positions perpendicular todirection bar 10 and nuts 26 again tightened (see FIG. 1). The stancecord is selectively placed on pegs 28 for the type of shot to be played.The device is then placed on the ground with the direction bar 10aligned with the target. With golf club in hand, the players left foot Lis positioned with toe touching stance cord 30 and inside of left heelin line with 0" mark on direction bar 10. With feet close together andtoes touching stance cord, weight evenly balanced on both feet, and armscomfortably extended, the player takes a few short swings with the golfclub. The ball B is placed at the point where the center of the clubhead H meets the imaginary continuance line of the ball position arm 20.

For long drives and the longest shots, the cord 30 is connected bet-weenthe pegs 28 marked CC and the outside of the heels of the players feetare placed shoulder width apart, which distance is determined by simplecalculation and reference to the inch marks on the di' rection bar. Forexample, if the width of the players shoulders is 20 /2 inches, byactual measurement, subtract 6 /2 inches to determine the distancebetween inside of heels. The inside of left heel L is then lined up withthe 0" mark and the inside of right heel R is aligned with the properinch mark. In this example, 6 /2 is subtracted from 20 /2 which leaves14 inches, the distance between inside of heels. Accordingly, the insideof right heel is lined up with the 14 inch mark on the direction bar 10(see FIG. 1). For shorter drives and long shots, the left foot remainssubstantially in line with the 0 mark, while the right foot is movedcloser to the left foot as the drives or shots get shorter.

For short shots and approaches, the position of the players toes withrespect to the direction bar is also varied, that is, the stance cord isconnected between the pegs 28 marked O-O for open, with the longestshort shot and approach having the inside of the players heels spacedapart 6 /2 inches less than width of his shoulders, and again as theshots'and approaches get shorter, moving the right foot closer to theleft; the left always being held with the inside of its heel inalignment with the pointer or ball position arm 20, as shown in FIG. 1.

For chipping and putting, the stance cord 30 is placed between the pegs28 marked SS for square, and the right foot again is placed relative tothe left foot aligned with the position arm 20 according to the distancethe ball is to be shot as described above.

It is to be understood that for -a left-handed golfer, the right andleft foot positions and the prejection of the arms 12, 16 and 20 fromthe bar 10' will all be reversed from those described above and shown inthe drawings.

Ordinarily, most right-handed player align the ball with the inside ofthe left heel for all shots. However, the ball may be moved to the rightor to the left by the more experienced player to secure more finesse incertain shots. As a guide for the placement of the ball in these otherpositions, the ball position arm 20 may be mounted so as to be movableor. adjustable longitudinally of the direction bar 10 as shown in FIGS.and 6. A slot 24 is provided in direction bar 19 for the pivot member 22so that arm 20 can be moved in either direction from its mid-positionwithin the limits of the slot 24. Slotting the direction bar so as tomake the ball position arm movable or adjustable enables the user toposition the golf ball at various placements in the stance in center,left of center (LC) and right of center (RC) for the different golfshots made with the various golf clubs, all woods and irons. Slots maybe marked to align with the position the pointer arm 20L and 20R shownin dotted lines in FIG. 5, in accordance with the recommendation of aqualified teacher for each golf shot.

While there i described above the principles of this invention isconnection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood thatthis description is made only by way of example and not as a limitationto the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf stance indicator comprising:

(1) A collapsible elongated device adapted to be positioned on theground to indicate the direction of flight of a golf ball, the positionof the golf ball, and the position of the golfers feet, said deviceincluding (a) a calibrated feet placement and ball direction bar forindicating the spacing between the golfers feet,

(b) a ball position arm pivoted to said bar inwardly from one endthereof and projectable from one side thereof at right angles thereto,

(c) a stance position arm pivoted to each end of said bar andprojectable from the other side thereof at right angles thereto,

(d) a plurality of attaching means projecting from each of said stanceposition arms, said attaching means on each of said stance position armsbeing spaced at different distances from said bar when said stanceposition arms, are positioned at a right angle to said bar, and

(e) a stance cord comprising a resilient material which permits thelength of such cord to be increased and decreased whereby a fixed lengthof such stance cord can be used to, form a straight line element whenthe respective ends of such cord are secured to any of the attachingmeans on the respective stance position arms, thereby providing means toposition the toes of; a golfers feet relative to the direction bar.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said ball position arm includesmeans for adjusting its position longitudinally of said bar.

3. An indicator according to claim 1 wherein said ball position arm issufficiently narrow so as to provide a line of sight between the golfersheel and the ball.

4. An indicator according to claim 1 wherein said attaching means arearranged so that said cord for square shots can be connected to saidstance arms parallel to said bar, and said cord for open and closedshots can.

be connected to said stance arms at an angle to said bar.

References Cited by the Examiner DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner,

1. A GOLF STANCE INDICATOR COMPRISING: (1) A COLLAPSIBLE ELONGATEDDEVICE ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED ON THE GROUND TO INDICATE THE DIRECTIONOF FLIGHT OF A GOLF BALL, THE POSITION OF THE GOLF BALL, AND THEPOSITION OF THE GOLFER''S FEET, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING (A) A CALIBRATEDFEET PLACEMENT AND BALL DIRECTION BAR FOR INDICATING THE SPACING BETWEENTHE GOLFER''S FEET, (B) A BALL POSITION ARM PIVOTED TO SAID BAR INWARDLYFROM ONE END THEREOF AND PROJECTABLE FROM ONE SIDE THEREOF AT RIGHTANGLES THERETO, (C) A STANCE POSITION ARM PROVIDED TO EACH END OF SAIDBAR AND PROJECTABLE FROM THE OTHER SIDE THEREOF AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO,(D) A PLURALITY OF ATTACHING MEANS PROJECTING FROM EACH OF SAID STANCEPOSITION ARMS, SAID ATTACHING MEANS ON EACH OF SAID STANCE POSITION ARMSBEING SPACED AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM SAID BAR WHEN SAID STANCEPOSITION ARMS ARE POSITIONED AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO SAID BAR, AND